The Palestinian Authority and Fatah have condemned the terror attacks in Paris on Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. The PA and Fatah, both of which are headed by Abbas, have also exploited the horrific attacks that killed 129 and wounded hundreds to draw an imaginary false parallel to Israel’s alleged “terror” against Palestinians and to repeat the allegation that Israel is like the Islamic State terror organization.

The Fatah movement posted the above image with the headline “Terror is terror.” Fatah implied that Israel is the equivalent of Islamic State by showing the Palestinian flag next to the flags of Russia, Lebanon and France. The flags refer to recent ISIS terror attacks that took place in and against these countries: the explosion on a Russian plane in Egypt that killed everyone on board, in total 224 (Oct. 31, 2015), a double suicide bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed at least 41 and wounded over 200 (Nov. 12, 2015), and the attacks in Paris, France, which killed 129 and wounded over 300 in several simultaneous shooting and suicide bombing attacks (Nov. 13, 2015).

Fatah’s post exploited these terror attacks to demonize Israel, falsely claiming that Israel is perpetrating the same acts of terror against Palestinians:

“Terror is terror and we condemn all terror. Be it destroying houses in Nablus and killing our children by Israel or hitting a Russian plane over Egypt. The Paris attacks are criminal acts done by coward terrorists.”

[Official Facebook page of the Fatah Movement, Nov. 14, 2015]

An op-ed in the official PA daily announced that the Israeli secret intelligence service, the Mossad, is behind the attacks in Paris. The writer stated that it is not a coincidence that “blood is spilled in Paris” at the same time as Europe has decided to label Israeli products made in “settlements.” He stated that Israel is the one benefiting from these attacks and that they serve the “goals” of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who “hides in his soul enough evil to burn the world”:

“It is not a coincidence that human blood was exploded in Paris at the same time that certain European sanctions are beginning to be implemented against settlement products, and while France leads Europe in advising the security council that will implement the two-state solution, Palestine and Israel - which the Israelis see as a warning of sudden danger coming from the direction of Europe, where the Zionist, occupying, settling endeavor was born...

The wise and correct thing is to look for who benefits. In short: They need to search the last place reached by the octopus arms of the Mossad... It is clear that its ‘Mossad’ will burn Beirut and Paris in order to achieve [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s goals. He, who challenged the master of the White House, hides in his soul enough evil to burn the world.”

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 15, 2015]

The official PA daily pronounced the libel that Israel is like ISIS in the cartoon below, which shows an Israeli decapitating the Al-Aqsa Mosque next to an ISIS terrorist beheading a hostage, simultaneously and with the same sword, declaring that Israel and ISIS are the same. [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 15, 2015]

In another Fatah post, Dr. Jamal Nazzal, spokesman of Fatah in Europe reiterated and emphasized the false claim that Fatah “rejects terror”:

“We express our total rejection to all justifications of terror. There can be no acceptable explanation for any terror attacks on any country of the world.”

[Official Facebook page of the Fatah Movement, Nov. 14, 2015]

Ironically, Fatah’s insurances that it “condemns terror” and its simultaneous allegations that Israel commits acts of terror come at a time when Israel is facing numerous Palestinian shooting and stabbing attacks in a wave of terror that has been ongoing since October 2015 and in which 11 Israelis have been killed. Palestinian Media Watch has documented that these attacks have never once been condemned by Abbas or any other PA or Fatah official. On the contrary, Abbas’ government and political party have both fueled the Palestinian rage and encouraged more violence.

Palestinian National Council member, the legislative body of the PLO, Bassam Abu Sharif also blamed Israel as the reason for the attacks in Paris, stating that the attacks are US and Western leaders’ own fault because they have “applied different criteria to terrorists” and not taken a stand against Israel and the “Zionists.” He also implied that the West is involved in the attacks because it has "used terror organizations before" to carry out Israel’s and their own “schemes” in the Middle East:

“[Bassam Abu Sharif said:] ‘At a time when we are feeling sorrow and pain over the death of innocent civilians in France, we note that [it is a result of] the policy of leaders of Washington and the West, who have adopted and [still] adopt the policy of applying different criteria to terrorists. The West has already used terrorist organizations in the past, armed them and trained them, in order to use them as a tool to serve its schemes and the schemes of Israel in the Middle East. In addition, the West did not object to or condemn the ongoing terror operations against the entire Palestinian people, being carried out by the government of Israel and the occupation forces, during which they shoot women, children and civilians who are demanding their freedom.’ Bassam Abu Sharif said that if the West persists in this policy of applying different criteria, which serves the ‘Zionist’ occupation forces and protects the crimes they are carrying out against an entire people, it will backfire.”

[Donia Al-Watan (independent Palestinian news agency), Nov. 14, 2015]

Having condemned the attacks in Paris and expressed his “sympathy and solidarity with France,” Fatah’s spokesman in Europe indicated that Israel is really to blame for the attacks because it “breeds violence in the entire world”:

“As a people who suffer daily aggressions by Israel we understand the suffering of the injured and the families of those who were killed in a cold blood. Palestinians know the bitter taste of losing beloved ones as the Israeli army is killing civilians in Palestine almost by the hour... We in the Fatah movement look forward to see the entire world winning this battle against terror especially in the Middle East. We know that restoring peace and stability in the Middle East is the first step to dry the sources of terrorism throughout the world. It is time to end the brutal Israeli occupation which breeds violence in the entire world.”

[Official Facebook page of the Fatah Movement, Nov. 14, 2015]

WAFA, the official PA news agency, reported that PA Chairman Abbas had “condemn[ed] what he described as 'terror attacks, affirming his full support for France in face of terrorism and stressing the need for the international community to take a stand and confront such terrorist attacks that lead to a spike in tension.’” [WAFA, Nov. 14, 2015] It then repeated the statement above by Fatah condemning the attacks and vilifying Israel.

Earlier this month, an op-ed in the official PA daily suggested that Israel and the US were behind the Russian plane crash for which ISIS has taken responsibility:

“The explosion of the Russian plane 23 minutes after its takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh airport in the end of October, was not an ISIS operation but a terror operation orchestrated by international and regional security services. The announcements made by American spokespersons are the best proof of that... Eventually [they] demanded to intervene in the investigations directly, in order to ‘shuffle the deck’ and eliminate the findings made by the Russians and the Egyptians. If the rational estimations point to [the presence of] fingerprints of Western and Israeli security services, that leaves much room for questions... I must stress once again, that ISIS was not the one behind the destruction of the Russian plane on Oct. 31, [2015], above Sinai... this operation was beyond their capabilities, because of its meticulous implementation, the statements released after the explosion of the plane, and what is secretly happening between the different countries, and clearly indicate that the operation was carried out by regional and international security services...

The messages intended for Egypt and Russia are [for] the following [purposes]:

A. To warn Egypt of the consequences of its policy, which is uncoordinated with the US and Israel. ...

D. To remind them that the long arm across the Middle East still belongs to the US and Israel. ... This new terror operation did not come out of nowhere, but rather came as a result of the US and its allies in Western Europe and Israel monitoring the Egyptian regime’s deviation from the framework they find acceptable.”

The spokesman for the PA National Security Forces, Adnan Damiri, posted statements on Facebook that hinted at Israeli responsibility for the attacks in Paris. Damiri speculated why terror strikes at Beirut and Paris, two capitals known for their standpoints of support for the Palestinians as opposed to Israel, and asked rhetorically who would gain from such acts. The implicit answer is “Israel,” and indeed people responding to his posts wrote this explicitly.

“The French people hold an advanced position regarding the Palestinian cause with regards to the boycotting of settlers’ goods, and France has a positive standpoint regarding Palestine, and took care of Martyr Yasser Arafat. Who benefits from the murder of French people and terrorizing the French nation?”

“From Beirut to Paris, terror and explosions, two beautiful and advanced cities, two cities that arouse admiration with their positions regarding Palestine... What is this hatred which attacks beauty and principles, and declares terror against them? ... Does the terror in Beirut and Paris wear masks like those who were in the Al-Ahli hospital in Hebron yesterday [Nov. 12, 2015]?”

The following are longer excerpts of the responses by PA, Fatah, and the PLO to the terror attacks in France:

Headline: “Tribe of bloodthirsty barbarians in Beirut and Paris”

“Whoever makes a connection between the bloodlust of savages, their terror and barbarity, and any other matter in the world, especially the Palestinian matter, is mistaken. Those who blew up the chests and hearts of our Lebanese brethren two days ago [Nov. 12, 2015] in Burj Al-Barajneh in the Al-Dahieh quarter in the capital, Beirut, who continued their crimes against humanity in Paris last night [Nov. 13, 2015]... and those who burned the Jordanian pilot [Moaz]Al-Kasasbeh in a cage while still alive, beheaded Muslim, Christian and Kurdish civilians in sister Iraq, slaughtered Coptic Egyptians and Muslims in Lybia, took women hostage and sold them like house furnishings - have no interest but satisfying their bloody desires and urges. They are sick with all the mental and sexual illnesses that scientists and doctors throughout the world can think of. They have no religion and no faith. They have no connection to humanity aside from the appearance...

They are a result of racist mentality and that of negating the other... They belong to a type of people that see no way other than the spilling of human blood, which they turn into waves which they ride to their hell, a hell which their masters and creators of their brain cells have described to them as paradise...

They are a product of labs of the CIA, the Mossad [Israeli Secret Intelligence Service], Scotland Yard, and others whose desire is to achieve a goal in the world... They set this ‘savage virus’ loose in their labs, groups of mentally ill with no mercy in their heart... It is not coincidence that human blood was exploded in Paris at the same time that certain European sanctions are beginning to be implemented against settlement products, and while France leads Europe in advising the security council that will implement the two-state solution, Palestine and Israel - which the Israelis see as a warning of sudden danger coming from the direction of Europe, where the Zionist, occupying, settling endeavor was born.

It does not matter who carried it out; who will benefit is more important. The Lebanese authorities are likely to find names and evidence proving the involvement of people with various citizenships, and also the French authorities. However, the wise and correct thing is to look for who benefits. In short: They need to search the last place reached by the octopus arms of the Mossad. This is because the State of Israel, which does not take to account the settlers (the Jewish ISIS) who burned the Dawabsheh family, and the rabbi who burned the boy Muhammad Abu Khdeir. It is clear that its ‘Mossad’ will burn Beirut and Paris in order to achieve [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s goals. He, who challenged the master of the White House, hides in his soul enough evil to burn the world.”

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Nov. 15, 2015]

Moaz Al-Kasasbeh - Jordanian fighter pilot whose plane crashed in northern Syria during a military operation targeting Islamic State. Kasasbeh was captured by IS militants and brutally executed on Jan. 3, 2015. Islamic State released footage of the execution on Feb. 3, 2015, showing Kasasbeh being burned alive in a cage.

Duma arson attack - On July 31, 2015, two Palestinian houses in the West Bank village of Duma were set afire by Molotov cocktails thrown through their windows. 18-month-old Ali Dawabsheh was killed in this attack, his father, Saad Dawabsheh, died of injuries 8 days later, and his mother, Reham Dawabsheh, died of injuries 5 weeks later. Israeli leaders and citizens from all sectors of society condemned this attack, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas that all Israelis were disgusted by the crime, adding, “We will not countenance terrorism of any kind.” He ordered the security forces "to use all means at their disposal to apprehend the murderers and bring them to justice forthwith."

There is suspicion that this was a nationalist attack carried out by Jewish extremists in revenge for Palestinian terror attacks. However, the crime remains unsolved with no named suspects.

Murder of Palestinian teen Muhammad Abu Khdeir - On June 12, 2014, Israeli teens Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frenkel were kidnapped by Hamas terrorists while they were hitchhiking. The boys' bodies were found by Israeli security forces near Hebron on June 30, 2014. They appeared to have been shot to death soon after the abduction. Two days later, Palestinian teen Muhammad Abu Khdeir was kidnapped and murdered in Jerusalem in a revenge attack by Israeli extremists. Following this murder, Palestinians took to the streets of eastern Jerusalem in violent and continuous protests. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli ministers immediately condemned the revenge killing in the strongest terms. Israeli police arrested six Israeli suspects on July 6th; under interrogation, three of the suspects confessed to murdering Khdeir.

Text posted on the official Facebook page of the Fatah Movement on Nov. 14, 2015

“Fatah condemns multiple Paris terror attacks expressing its solidarity with France
Fatah expresses its strong condemnation of the heinous terror attacks that took place in Paris last night killing and wounding dozens of innocent people. Our people is deeply shocked and angered but mostly saddened by these events aimed at hitting civil life in the wonderful city of Paris. We express sympathy and solidarity with France as a whole as well as to the victims’ families. As a people who suffer daily aggressions by Israel we understand the suffering of the injured and the families of those who were killed in a cold blood. Palestinians know the bitter taste of losing beloved ones as the Israeli army is killing civilians in Palestine almost by the hour.
But France is the mother of freedom and liberty in the world. It will prevail over the sinister forces of terror.
We in the Fatah movement look forward to see the entire world winning this battle against terror especially in the Middle East. We know that restoring peace and stability in the Middle East is the first step to dry the sources of terrorism throughout the world. It is time to end the brutal Israeli occupation which breeds violence in the entire world. Having said that we express our total rejection to all justifications of terror. There can be no acceptable explanation for any terror attacks on any country of the world.
Dr. Jamal Nazzal
Spokesman of Fatah in Europe
004915124186258”

[Official Facebook page of the Fatah Movement, Nov. 14, 2015]

Headline: “Bassam Abu Sharif: ‘Condemnation of terror, and the war against it requires uniform criteria’”

“[Palestinian National Council member (i.e., the legislative body of the PLO)] Bassam Abu Sharif condemned the bloody terrorist attack, which took the lives of dozens of victims among French citizens, and said that this despicable crime is a result of policies of Western leaders, who use different criteria when they judge bloody indiscriminate terror. Likewise, he said: ‘At a time when we are feeling sorrow and pain over the death of innocent civilians in France, we note that [it is a result of] the policy of leaders of Washington and the West, who have adopted and [still] adopt the policy of applying different criteria to terrorists. The West has already used terrorist organizations in the past, armed them and trained them, in order to use them as a tool to serve its schemes and the schemes of Israel in the Middle East. In addition, the West did not object to or condemn the ongoing terror operations against the entire Palestinian people, being carried out by the government of Israel and the occupation forces, during which they shoot women, children and civilians who are demanding their freedom.’ Bassam Abu Sharif said that if the West persists in this policy of applying different criteria, which serves the ‘Zionist’ occupation forces and protects the crimes they are carrying out against an entire people, it will backfire. Likewise, he said that dealing with the terror and coming out against it are a human and cultural duty at this moment, and anyone who puts obstacles in the way of coming out against terror and is silent about the terror of the ‘Zionist’ state is serving the interests of this organized terror.”

[Donia Al-Watan (independent Palestinian news agency), Nov. 14, 2015]

“RAMALLAH, November 14, 2015 (WAFA) - The Palestinian presidency offered its solidarity and sympathy with the French government, following the string of ‘terrorist attacks’ that hit Paris late Friday.

According to media outlets, terror attacks targeted different locations in Paris, leaving at least 150 killed, and scores others injured. Following the attacks, the French government declared a state of emergency and closed its borders.

The Palestinian presidency reported on President Mahmoud Abbas as condemning what he described as 'terror attacks, affirming his full support for France in face of terrorism and stressing the need for the international community to take a stand and confront such terrorist attacks that lead to a spike in tension.

Abbas offered his condolences to his French counterpart, François Hollande, and to the families of the victims of the terror attacks, wishing the sick a speedy recovery.

Meanwhile, Fatah faction, also expressed its strong condemnation of the ‘heinous terror attacks that took place in Paris last night killing and wounding dozens of innocent people.’

‘Our people are deeply shocked and angered, but mostly saddened by these events aimed at hitting civil life in the wonderful city of Paris. We express sympathy and solidarity with France as a whole as well as to the victims’ families.’

A statement issued by Fatah read: ‘As people who suffer daily aggressions by Israel we understand the suffering of the injured and the families of those who were killed in cold blood. Palestinians know the bitter taste of losing beloved ones as the Israeli army is killing civilians in Palestine almost by the hour.’

‘We know that restoring peace and stability in the Middle East is the first step to dry up the sources of terrorism throughout the world,” said the statement, stressing that, “It is time to end the brutal Israeli occupation which breeds violence in the entire world.’

“From Beirut to Paris, terror and explosions, two beautiful and advanced cities, two cities that arouse admiration with their positions regarding Palestine... What is this hatred which attacks beauty and principles, and declares terror against them? ... Does the terror in Beirut and Paris wear masks like those who were in the Al-Ahli hospital in Hebron yesterday [Nov. 12, 2015]?”

In order to apprehend 20-year-old Palestinian terrorist Azzam Shalaldeh, Israel carried out an undercover military operation in which soldiers disguised themselves as Palestinians in order to infiltrate the Al-Ahri hospital in Hebron where the terrorist was hiding. Shalaldeh had stabbed and injured an Israeli civilian near the settlement of Meitzad in Gush Etzion on Oct. 25, 2015, and was shot and injured by the Israeli civilian. Shalaldeh was successfully apprehended, and one family member who tried to intervene was shot and killed.

“The criminal terror invades France. The French police speak of 40 dead, and they talk about 18 dead, and there is news of 60 hostages. The French people hold an advanced position regarding the Palestinian cause in regards to the boycotting of settlers’ goods, and France has a positive standpoint regarding Palestine, and took care of Martyr Yasser Arafat. Who benefits from the murder of French people and terrorizing the French nation?”

“The explosion of the Russian plane 23 minutes after its takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh airport in the end of October, was not an ISIS operation but a terror operation orchestrated by international and regional security services. The announcements made by American spokespersons are the best proof of that; The first statement made by American institutions said that they [the US] intercepted phone calls between ISIS and a country in the region. The following day, they withdrew the statement and released a different one, according to which the intercepted phone calls were between Takfir organizations (i.e., those defining other Muslims as unbelievers). The American statements were consistent with the Israeli and British statements. Eventually [they] demanded to intervene in the investigations directly, in order to ‘shuffle the deck’ and eliminate the findings made by the Russians and the Egyptians.

If the rational estimations point to [the presence of] fingerprints of Western and Israeli security services, that leaves much room for questions, such as: Why was the operation carried out precisely against the Russian plane? What is the significance? What messages are the institutions behind the operation trying to convey? Are the messages intended for Egypt, Russia, or both? Does the operation signify a significant turning point in the secret conflict between the allies? And does this terror operation entail the drawing of new horizons in the Egyptian and Arab policy?

I must stress once again, that ISIS was not the one behind the destruction of the Russian plane on Oct. 31, [2015], above Sinai. There is no intention here to absolve the Takfir organizations from the possibility they would carry out a terror operation, but this operation was beyond their capabilities, because of its meticulous implementation, the statements released after the explosion of the plane, and what is secretly happening between the different countries, and clearly indicate that the operation was carried out by regional and international security services...

In that case, what is the objective?

A. To strike a blow to Egyptian tourism which constitutes 14.8 percent of the Gross National Income.

B. To strike a blow to Russian tourism in Egypt, which constitutes 35 percent of its tourism in total. [Russia] takes first place (in terms of number of tourists to Egypt -Ed.).

E. To intensify the economic woes of the new regime [in Egypt], depriving it of any chance of recovery.

The messages intended for Egypt and Russia are [for] the following [purposes]:

A. To warn Egypt of the consequences of its policy, which is uncoordinated with the US and Israel.

B. To threaten with a hard stick (terror) [parenthesis in source] in order to strike at the pillars of Egyptian economy.

C. To direct Russia’s attention to the dangers posed by its spreading into the Arab states in the region, especially Egypt, Syria and Iraq.

D. To remind them that the long arm across the Middle East still belongs to the US and Israel.

E. To harm any kind of alliance between Egypt and Russia, or to put it through difficult and complex tests.

This new terror operation did not come out of nowhere, but rather came as a result of the US and its allies in Western Europe and Israel monitoring the Egyptian regime’s deviation from the framework they find acceptable. This deviation is not permitted, because these new tendencies affect the Israeli and American strategic tendencies negatively, and because they entail a serious threat to the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, signed between [Former Egyptian President Anwar] Sadat and [Former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem] Begin in 1979.”